Sorry for the lack of updates! School/midterms have been absolutely insane. It took me a week to get this chapter done (finally)! Thanks for the amazing reviews! 3
---------------------------------------
The muffled sound of blaring music ricocheted off the walls of the hallway as Lucas and Brooke walked down it side by side. Lucas casually slipped his hand into Brooke's as they walked together. She stopped in the hall and pulled him into her and kissed him hard.
"What was that for?" he asked with a grin.
"For being cute," she responded before taking his hand and continuing forward.
The music grew louder and louder as the approached the end of the hallway. Soon enough, the music was full-fledged and Lucas was knocking on the door of the suite. The sounds overtook the two as the door flew opened to reveal Owen's smirk and a messy hotel room.
"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" he said slyly.
Lucas felt the blood begin boiling within him. His fist clenched at the sight of Owen's smirk knowing that he had flirted with Brooke earlier. "What's up?" he asked tersely before pulling a smiling Brooke past Owen into the main room. Owen's mouth hung open, still ready to give a response. However, Brooke and Lucas were already gone.
The suite was huge, to say the least. A piano sat in the center of the living room with a plasma television a few feet away from it. A few people that Brooke recognized from the other night plus a few strangers were scattered on the couches. They each held beers or red cups filled with mixed drinks. Lucas quickly walked around the group, hi-fiving the boys and kissing each girl on the cheek. Further into the massive suite, Brooke could see a huge bathroom and two rooms, presumably bedrooms, adjacent to them. She quickly walked over to the people she knew, offering them hellos galore. On the balcony, she could see the silhouettes of four people. One person was straddling another and she could see enough to know that whoever the two were, they were making out… intensely. The other pair was standing, one person's arm slinking around the other's waist, looking over the balcony toward the ocean.
Brooke walked toward the opposite side of the apartment only to find a fully equipped kitchen with bottles lined up like soldiers and beers in a neat pyramid. She grabbed two beers for her and Lucas and walked toward the main room once again.
The music was blaring and she swung her hips seductively to the beat as she walked toward Lucas. He watched them swing back-and-forth, not taking his eyes off her body. After her little strip-tease before, all Lucas could think about was what he wanted to do to her as soon as possible.
"I was wondering where you were," he said, kissing her forehead, as she handed him one of the cold beers. "Let's go into one of the bedrooms."
"Why? Let's hang out with your friends for a little…" she said, pouting her lower lip.
"Don't look at me like that," he said aloud before moving his mouth to her ear. "And after what you did before we got here, you can't expect me to just sit here and keep my clothes… and yours… on," he whispered seductively.
She rolled her eyes playfully and moved her hand to his chest. "We have plenty of time. It's only three. The day is young," she smirked before walking toward an empty spot on the couch. Lucas sighed before slowly sinking into an extra chair. The group sat for awhile just laughing over meaningless, drunk stuff.
Owen sat in complete concentration rolling blunts for the group, passing lit ones in a circle. Lucas took a few hits for the hell of it but Brooke decided to pass.
As the group continued to chat, Lucas caught Brooke's eye and he gave her the pout-face that she had always been known to use.
She leaned toward him, resting her elbow on his knee and her cheek in her palm. "What's that face for?"
"I see these people everyday. Can you at least come and sit with me?"
"You're on a chair and I'm right next to you, silly," she smiled.
"Fine… sit on me."
She looked at him skeptically since she wasn't normally a fan of PDA-action. He pouted again seeing her contemplate the idea. "C'mon baby," he said in his sweetest voice. "I wanna be near you."
She rolled her eyes before slowly getting up and sliding onto his lap. She hung her legs across him sideways and leaned into the crook of his neck, feeling the three beers she had drank in the past half-an-hour swirl to her head. He put his hand on the exposed small of her back and ran his fingertips across her flesh. She felt goosebumps rise on her arms and she giggled slightly.
She could feel the sideways glances of the people around her, but she didn't really care. She was comfortable with Lucas. She sat up straight and grabbed another beer off the table.
"Open it for me, please?" she asked running her free hand down his thigh.
He kissed her neck before opening the beer in her hand. "Can we go somewhere more private now?"
Two people walked in from the balcony that Brooke didn't recognize.
"Is it empty out there?" she asked the two as they joined the group.
"Now it is," they commented before sliding into their seats. Brooke looked at Lucas and kinked her eyebrow as an indication of where she wanted to go. The two got up simultaneously and headed toward the empty balcony. The sun was now setting over the crystal blue Pacific and Brooke couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"It's gorgeous here," she commented. Lucas slid onto one of the lounge chairs that sat on the overly large balcony. He put his hands behind his head while he watched Brooke lean over the railing to look at the gorgeous view. He watched her run her hands through her hair in an attempt to control it as a breeze came through.
"You're making me fall for you," he commented, the words falling out of his mouth without his control.
She turned to face him. "What?" she said confusedly.
"I don't know, Brooke… there's just something about you…"
"Don't say that Lucas. Don't you dare do that right now."
"Do what?"
"Don't tell me you're falling for me. I'm leaving in a little over a week," she laughed sarcastically. "You're never gonna see me again." She turned to face the ocean again, subconsciously shaking her head at what Lucas had just said.
He stood up and walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck tenderly. "Tell me a secret," he whispered, using the same line she had used on him.
She turned to face him so that she was pinned between the railing and his body. "I can't do this, Lucas. It's supposed to be fun."
"And it is fun. Kissing you is beyond fun. Being with you is fun. You make me laugh, ya know?"
"But now you're making it serious…"
"I'm sorry," he said with fierceness in his eyes. "But I'm not gonna just let you put up your walls. Not with me. I know about walls, Brooke. I've been building them since I was in junior high. It's not always easier to block people out."
"But it is," she breathed. "It is easier."
--------------------------------------------------
"What the fuck are you doing with her?" Dan Scott demanded of his only son.
"I'm taking her out for breakfast. Is that a problem?" he sneered before walking past his father. Dan turned around and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to where he stood.
"She is not a friend. She is an employer. She is the daughter of two of our good friends and business affiliates…"
"And that's why I'm being nice, Dad."
"Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact that you probably wanna screw her?"
"No. It doesn't. She's great," he spat as he tried to break loose from his father's tight hold.
"Is that what you tell Lindsey too?"
"Keep Lindsey out of this," he yelled as he felt the blood rush to his head in anger. He wanted to punch someone. He wanted to punch his father. Who was he to tell him how to live?
Dan took a deep breath before continuing. "You know, son, one of these days, the games you play are gonna catch up with you. And they are going to drive away someone you actually care about. Not one of your little conquests, but a girl who you fall in love with. She's gonna leave you because the only way you know how to treat someone is like shit," he said flatly. He shook his head in disappointment before letting go of his son with a shove.
--------------------------------------------------
"No, it's not easier Brooke. Trust me," he sighed. "It's not easier to push everyone who cares about you away."
Brooke lifted his arm from where it rested on the railing and moved toward the lounge chair. She laid back onto the plush pillow that covered it and closed her eyes tightly.
"I have a favor to ask for," she stated a few moments later, her eyes still pressed closed.
"Anything," he said softly as he sat down on the edge of her chair. He reached into his pocket, suddenly becoming nervous, and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it and took a drag of it hoping that it would give him something to keep his mind off the situation at hand.
She opened her eyes slowly not wanting to face his piercing blue ones. She hated cigarettes, yet she couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked taking slow drags from the white stick. "Can you please, please, for my sake, stop being so serious and just kiss me and pretend that there's no expiration date on this whole thing?"
He smiled weakly. "That I can do," he said before throwing the cigarette to the wind and kissing her softly.
She sat up to face him and edged closer toward him. Soon, she was sitting between his legs, her legs wrapped around his waist sloppily. He pushed her stray hairs out of the way to get a better look at her face. Her cheeks were pink from the sun and her eyes had gotten greener since she had arrived. He smiled at her and kissed her again. His hand slowly began to wander over her curves, and soon found their way up the front of her white tank top. She felt weak under his touch and as hard as she tried to fight back, to say that she didn't want to get attached, her arms wouldn't move and her legs wouldn't kick.
"I need to be with you," he mumbled into her hair taking in the coconut scent.
"Mhm," she murmured in response, still scared by the words that he was saying. She felt chills run up her spine as the wind blew over them once again. She pulled back from their kiss. "I'm freezing," she said as her teeth began clanking together quickly.
"I'll get you a sweatshirt, wait here," he smiled before heading toward the glass doors that separated them from the party.
He walked into the loud noise of music and talking. More people had arrived in the ten minutes they had been gone. He walked toward the bedroom to grab a sweatshirt and spare blanket from the closet. As he turned away from the closet to head out the door, he was greeted by Owen's large silhouette.
"What are you doing, bro?" Owen stated with a stone-like expression.
"What do you mean? I'm not the one flirting with your girl…" he spat angrily. He tried pushing past him but Owen held him back.
"No… you're the one cheating on your girlfriend with the great girl you work for."
"I don't see how that's your business," he mumbled nervously.
"Does she know about Lindsey, Lucas?"
"I care about Brooke, okay man? I care about her."
"That doesn't answer the question. Does Brooke know that you've had a 'serious' girlfriend for the past five months?"
He rubbed the back of his neck nervously making sure his eyes didn't meet Owen's.
"Does she fucking know, Lucas?" he repeated, taking a step forward. "Does she know that you talk to Lindsey every-fucking-night? Does she fucking know?" With each word, his voice became louder.
"Just answer the fucking question."